Gotham, Next Adventure

 As we do every weekend, we spend an hour each day working on communication and expression in English. 

Last week we weren’t able to work at home because Álvar was on a language immersion trip and we were at a wedding in the Basque Country.

We are very lucky to have such excellent professionals involved in every aspect of our children’s overall education. Firstly, Álvar and Martín’s teacher, Cris, who has generously given them the opportunity to attend a language immersion centre in Ávila; secondly, Ivana, the teacher at the INFIL school where we’ve taken A&M since they were very young; and I must also mention Irene, the nanny of one of Álvar’s best friends.

Irene is a real gem for the village of Doñinos. She’s a lovely lady who gives extra tuition and English lessons in the village and runs fantastic workshops so that the children of Doñinos can enjoy unique creative and immersive experiences.

Following the workshop Irene has proposed for the end of this school year and the start of the next, we have today reviewed Topic 6 of Year 5 in English. At home, we work in a playful, creative way using real-life contexts to ensure solid learning.

With this in mind, I suggested to Álvar that he make a paper flyer about the adventure Irene will be leading in September. 

Objectives:

1. To practise the future continuous tense in a real-life context.
2. To consciously study the vocabulary from Topic 6.
3. To develop communication skills using simple expressions that answer the ‘5Ws’.

Here some picture about the result:

Conclusions:

1. We have worked happily.
2. We have created a nice educative product in which we can show what we know.
3. We like trainning communication skills with maker culture methodologies.
4. It is nice to do st to express gratitude to some of these nice people Who collaborate with us in bringing Up our kids ( this time we do It for Irene). This is an important value for life, and in our house we try to teach it everyday.

Kids Who travel; kids Who know profit a immersion journey

 Álvar has returned today from his first language immersion trip.

He arrived happy and with a rucksack full of new knowledge.

We can never thank Cris, Ana and Sonsoles enough for their hard work and generosity. Three teachers who have given up their weekend free time to make this language experience accessible to the Year 5 pupils at Doñinos.

They are exemplary, dedicated teachers with a high level of professionalism. Because let’s not kid ourselves, this responsibility outside school hours is unpaid.

The centre where they went for the immersion programme is in Gredos, Ávila.

They took part in some really cool activities, well designed to encourage communication, teamwork and fun.

Álvar has told us that he won several prizes and that he communicated effectively at all times... so we’re continuing to focus on consistent, ongoing work at home in everything...

We usually travel abroad at least twice a year and these experiences are very important for our kids to understand how importan is english nowadays. 

Here are some worksheets from the Gredos Centre

First english immersion; with Cris.

This weekend Álvar was alone with us. Martín was in a spring camp near here. 

We have had too much time to do things we like: go to our villages, go hiking and enjoy with traditions...

We are very grateful to Álvar’s English teacher, Cris Novoa, who has taken on the challenge of leading our children on the Year 5 class’s first immersion trip.

It is a real gift that, at this age, a teacher would choose to give up her free time so that our children can begin to function in English independently, within an English-speaking environment that encourages them to make an effort with the language.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Just like every weekend, whether there are exams or not, we practice English at home; we speak and read in English...

And there’s nothing better than using the numerous activities Álvar has planned for this week to practice vocabulary and grammatical structures.

Today we practiced ‘Going to’ using the programme of activities sent to us from the Gredos immersion trip...

• On monday: class
• On tuesday: class
• On wednesday: trip to Ávila
• On thursday: Neonymus
• On friday: Two trips...but the Very BEST is to Gredos!

And with this planning we were practicing grammar and vocabulary. Unit 6.

I am going to TRAVEL abroad (summer plans)

 

As we do every weekend, we practice English at home. 

This week has been very tough, so we’ve used all the time we would normally have spent on the subjects Álvar and Martín had exams in to practice speaking, reading and grammar a little.

Specifically, the main topic has been the European Union and the evolution of species within this society.

Drawing on our travel experiences, we’ve also started practicing ‘Going to’ with plans for the immediate future (this summer) and plans that are a bit further off but very much on our minds.

We use “going to” to describe our plans for this summer.

1) Going to our villages, having a  village is the BEST for kids...and spending time with friends and cousins is  the BEST plan for summer.

Aldehuela, on of our villages IS a very dynamic town, with too many kids and with nice places to enjoy together ( swiming pool, fields, nice paths, excelentes views...).

2) Doing water sports at Santi Petri. We’ll be going back to CadizFornia.

3) Upcoming trips: Munich, Denmark, Athens

And finally, we like the music, so we enjoy listening excellent messages like this:

Vocabulary reviews

Today, we train vocabulary and communication skills. My kids are very good in english and for them, It is not enough to memorize words  to get better... 

Obviously, memorizing is important...but when kids know the words...they need a contexto to use them and to lear comprehensive. So, how They nowadays know the words, I consider they can go further...

I want not only my kids know the meening of the words but also explain the meening using gramar and trainning oral skills..

Pegasus’ promise: A tale of unity and peace

Today, 9 May, is Europe Day, and as European citizens who love travelling around Europe, we felt we had to take some time to mark a day like today.

We are very lucky to have the knowledge and resources to teach our children about Europe.

As I do every year, I organise educational activities related to Europe at the school where I work. And it’s the @eurodirectsalamanca service that always provides me with brilliant resources

This year I’ve discovered a very interesting document on history, geography and politics, adapted for children. 

This week, Álvar and Martín are swamped with exams, so it’s up to us to study (in some cases almost from scratch, because I don’t think it’s possible to learn about the EU simply by reading a section in a book and copying exactly what it says into a notebook... 

I don’t know, I think we have to teach and the students have to study and memorise... but when it comes to topics of territorial organisation and politics, it requires many other resources to bring the simple idea we want to convey down to earth...)

Anyway, As well as that excellent resource about EU that Álvar has analysed... I’ve discovered a brilliant audiobook in English to improve our communicatiln skills . And here we are practicing our listening...in a cute context.

Try it! It Is a real way of learning.

That’s why the title of this post is.

Link: https://europa.eu/kids-corner/audiobook-files/2023.1883_Audiobook_Pegasus_final_EN.mp3

Here the script https://learning-corner.learning.europa.eu/document/download/083278dd-2eff-40b5-af1e-00e6a24871c4_en?filename=Pegasus%20Script%20EN.pdf

This is a very interesting way to prepare the Social Science Exam about Europe, and the english exam practicing the listening.

English project. Internacional Desserts

At our children’s English school, the teacher has asked them to research an international dessert and find a recipe for it, so they can present it in English with a short oral presentation.

Álvar and Martín, who love making posters, set about researching their chosen desserts—tiramisu and apple pie—the very same day the project was set. 

They looked for information in English, selected photos, and today they have already designed the poster and handwritten all the content.

We have also practised the oral presentation, because all this preparation and work helps them gain fluency and confidence in communicating.

Here the posters:

I love seeing my children’s progress in their second language. It is now that we are beginning to see how all the effort in terms of time and money, put into ensuring they progress without fear and, above all, that they enjoy learning a language, is starting to bear fruit.

Anyone who thinks a language can be learnt solely through three hours of lessons at school and by following a textbook… I think they are very much mistaken…